Power attachment for hospital beds



Jan. 18, 1955 0. K. SUTTON 2,699,683

POWER ATTACHMENT FOR HOSPITAL BEDS Filed Sept. 10, 1951 5 Sheets-$heet l 0,944 /r. wr/m/ BY 574W M A ORNE'Y Jan. 18, 1955 0. K. SUTTON POWER ATTACHMENT FOR HOSPITAL BEDS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fil ed Sept. 10, 1951 INVENTORY Ole/4 1 X. 50770 Jan. 18, 1955 0. K. SUTTON 2,699,683

POWER ATTACHMENT FOR HOSPITAL BEDS Filed Sept. 10, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR I 0/9/21 A. 51/7704 flaw/w Jan. 18, 1955 0. K. SUTTON 2,699,688

POWER ATTACHMENT FOR HOSPITAL BEDS Filed Sept. 10, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VENTOR UIQQL 60770 Jan. 18, 1955 0. K. SUTTON 2,699,688

POWER ATTACHMENT FOR HOSPITAL BEDS 7 Filed Sept. 10, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 OAWZ l6. 67/770 33 BY %M/ A RNEY United States Patent-O 2,699,688 POWER ATTACHMENT FOR HOSPITAL BEDS Oral K. Sutton, Springfield, Ill. Application September 10, 1951, Serial No. 245,867

3 Claims. Ci. 74-722 Thepresent invention relates to improvements in electric hospital bed raisers and has for an object the provision of a device of this kind by which the patient may raise or lower the foot and head portions of the bed while occupying the bed. a a a Another object of the present invention is the provision of an electric bed raiser which may be quickly and easily mounted on hospital beds now in service or on hospital beds being manufactured without requiring any change in the physical structure of the bed. A further object of the present invention is to provide a n improved device of this character which maybe applied to hospital beds of both the end crank and side crank, type. a i a a a I A A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved electric bedraiser which will permit the a conventional cranks to be used in case of a po wer failure.

The present invention aims to provide an improved structure in which the control means may be so positioned that they will be readily accessible to the patient or they may be transferred to the foot of the bed out of reach of the patient and where they may be operated only by an attendant. a a V In one of its broadest aspects the present invention eontemplates the provision of an electric bed raiser for heds having a shaft for raising and lowering the foot of the bed and a second shaft for raising and lowering the head of the bed comprising supporting means for attachrneht to the bed, a reversible electric motor on said supporting means, an operative connection between said motor and one of the bed shafts, a second reversible motor on said supporting means, an operative connection between said second motor and the other of said bed shafts, and control means on the bed accessible to the occupant of the bed for selectively operating said motors to raise and lowerthe foot and head of the bed. Morespecitically, the present invention contemplates the provision of an improved electric bed raiser for hospital or invalid beds having side members, a shaft for raising or lowering the foot of the bed and a second shaft for raising or lowering the head of the bed comprising a f casing, a plurality of standards mounted within the casing,

two reversible motors supported by said casing and facing in opposite directions, a pulley adapted to be fixed on each of the bed shafts, a reductiondriving connection between one of said motors and one of said pulleys comprising a train of pulleys of difierent diametersand pulley belts, entrained over said pulleys, a reduction driving con- .nectionbetween the other of said motors and the other bed shaft pulley comprising a train of pulleys of different diameters and pulley belts entrained over the pulleys,

portions of said pairs of standards, a hanger bar secured said motors, control means positioned in said electric supply means for selectively operating said motors in oppesite directions, and supporting means for. said control 7 l rheans ad: pted to be mounted on the bed and comprising two portions hinged together oneof said portions being attached to the bed and the other of said portions carrying shafts for said pulleys supported by said standards, two pairs of said standards being extended above said casing and having horizontally aligned apertures in their extendedportions, a strap secured to each pair of extended to said-straps and adapted to be secured to the side 'rnem bers of the bed, means for supplying electric current tothe control means is positioned beneath the bed and cooperating fasteningelements on said portions for holding sa d control carrying portion in its first mentioned positron.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinaft'er more fully described and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, in which the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a conventional type of hospital or invalid bed with the improved device constructed in accordance with the present invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the improved device looking at the front thereof;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the improved device showing the portion of an end crank operated hospital bed to which it is attached;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the improved device showing the portion of a side crank operated hospital bed to which it is attached;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of the improved device looking at the back thereof;

Fisgure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6--6 of Figure Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on line 7--7 of Figure 5;

Figure 8 is a top plan view of the control panel;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the control means support in its raised position;

Figure '10 is a sectional 'view taken on line 1010 of Figure 3; and

Figure ii is a sectional view taken on line 1111 of Figure 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 indicates the head of a conventional type of hospital or invalid bed and 11 indicates the foot member. The side members 12'and 13 are supported by the head and foot members It? and 11 and may be of angle iron shape in cross section having vertical flanges 14 and horizontal flanges 15. The inner end;of a head or back supporting portion 15 is pivotally attached to stationary members 17 each of which may be of channel shape in cross section having a lower horizontal flange 18 and. upper horizontal flange 19 and a vertical flange 20 connecting the two horizontal flanges. The stationary members 17 may be secured by welding or the like to the horizontal flanges 15 of the side members 12 and 13.

The foot portion of the bed comprises separate sections 23 and 22 which are pivotally connected to one another as as 23. The inner end of the section 21 is pivotally mounted upon the vertical flanges 20, of the stationary members 17 as at 24. The free end ofthesection 22 may ride upon the horizontal flanges 15 of the side members 12 and 13 during the raising and lowering of the foot portion. A mattress 26 may be positioned upon thehead and foot portions.

The head portion 16 may be raised and lowered by the conventional type of linkage 27 which is operated by the conventional shaft 28 which may be carried by the bed'in a conventional manner. The foot portion of the bed may be raised and lowered by the conventional linkage 29 which is operated by the conventional foot shaft -30.

A casing or housing generally indicated at A comprises a top 31 and bottom 32, ends 33 and 3-4, back35and a front or cover 36. The cover 36 may be 'removably rounted on the casing by means of threaded bolts 37 which are received by screw threaded openings formed in blocks 38. A pair of reversible electric motors 39 and 40 may be positioned within the casing A and be secured to the bottom 32 thereof by bolts 41 or the like which extend through the base 42 of each motor into the bottom 32 of the casing. The motors 39 and 4(0 face in opposite directions to one another.

The motor 39 is adapted to operate the head raising shaft 28 and has a drive shafit 43 which is supported by bearings 44 which in turn are supported by hearing blocks 45 mounted in any suitable manner upon thebo'ttom 32 of the casing A. A pulley 46 is fixed to the free end of the shaft 43 of the motor 39 and a pulley 47 of larger diameter than the pulley 46 is fixedly mounted upon a stub shaft 48 which is rotatably mounted in a pair of standards 49 and 50. The standards 49 and 50 may be cast integral with the bottom 32 of the casing or they may be secured thereto in any suitable manner. Bearing collars 51 are fastened to the stub shaft 48 by set screws 52 or the like. Each of the pulleys 46 and 47 has a substantially V- shaped groove which receives a correspondingly shaped belt 53.

A pulley 54 which may be of less diameter than the pulley 46 is fixed to the outer end portion of the stub shaft 48. A pulley 55 is fixed to the outer end portion of a stub shaft 56 which is rotatably supported by a pair of standards 57 and 58. The standards 57 and 58 may be cast integral with the top 31 and bottom 32 of the casing A or they may be secured thereto in any suitable manner. Bea-ring collars 59 may be secured to the shaft 56 by set screws 60 or the like. The pulley 55 may be of substantially the same diameter as the pulley 47. The pulleys 54 and 55 may be provided with substantially V- shaped grooves which receive a correspondingly shaped belt 61.

A pulley 62 is fixed to the shaft 56 inwardly of the pulley 55 and a pulley 63 may be secured to the outer end portion of a power shaft 64 which is rotatably supported by a pair of standards 65 and 66. The standards '65 and 66 may be cast integral with the top 31 and the bottom 32 of the casing A or they may be secured thereto in any suitable manner. The pulleys 62 and 63 may have substantially V-shaped grooves which receive a correspondingly shaped belt 63a.

The end portion of the shaft 64 opposite to that upon which the pulley 63 is mounted extends through and outwardly of the cover 36 and has mounted upon the extended end portion thereof a pulley 69 which may be substantiallythe same diameter as the pulley 62. Pulley 70 is fixed to the outer free end portion of the head shaft 28. The pulley 70 may have a diameter greater than the pulley 62 but less than that of the pulley 55. The pulleys 69 and 70 may have substantially V-shaped grooves which receive a correspondingly shaped belt 71.

An automatic belt tightner generally indicated at B is provided for keeping the belt 71 tight to prevent slippage and comprises an arm 72 pivotally mounted as at 73 to the cover 36 of the casing A. A roller 74 is rotatably mounted on the arm 72 by a pin 75 and is held in resilient engagement with the belt 71 by a spring 76 one end of which is attached to the arm 72 and the other end to the cover 36.

A motor 40 is adapted to operate the foot raising shaft 30 and has a power shaft 77 which is supported by bearings 7'8 which in turn is supported by bearing blocks 79 mounted in any suitable manner upon the bottom 32 of the casing A. A pulley 80 is fixed to the free end of the shaft 77 of the motor 40 and a pulley 81 which may be of smaller diameter than the pulley 80 is fixedly mounted on a stub shaft 82 which is rotatably carried by the standards 65 and 66. Bearing collars 67 may be secured to the shaft 82 by set screws 68 or the like. Each of the pulleys 80 and 81 has a substantially V-shaped groove which receives a correspondingly shaped belt 83.

A pulley 84 which may be of less diameter than that of the pulley 81 is fixed to the shaft 82 inwardly of the pulley 81. A pulley 85 is fixed to a stub shaft 86 which is rotatably carried by the standards 57 and 58. The pulley 85 may have a diameter which is greater than that of the pulley 80 and the pulleys 8'4 and 85 have substantially V-shaped grooves for receiving a correspondingly shaped belt 87.

A pulley 88 which may be of substantially the same diameter as the pulley 84 is fixed on the outer end of the stub shaft 86. A foot shaft 89 is rotatably mounted in the standards 49 and 50 and has fixed thereto adjacent the cover 36 a pulley 90 which may have a diameter equal to that of the pulley 85. The pulleys 88 and 90 are each provided with a substantially V-shaped groove for receiving a correspondingly shaped belt 91.

- A bearing collar 92 is secured to the shaft 89 between the pulley 90 and the cover 36 by a'set screw 93 or the like. The shaft 89 extends through and outwardly of the cover .36 and has mounted upon the extended end portion thereof a pulley 94 which may be substantially the same diameter as that of the pulley 69. A pulley 95 is fixed to the outer free end portion of the foot shaft 30 and may have a diameter the same as that of the pulley 70. Pulleys 94 and 95 may have substantially V-shaped grooves which receive a correspondingly shaped belt 96.

An automatic belt tightner B is associated with the belt 96 for maintaining the same against slippage. The head and foot shafts 64 and 89 are supported by bearings 97 which may be secured to the cover 36 by screws 98 or the like.

For the purpose of mounting the casing A upon the side members 12 and 13 of the bed the pairs of standards 49 and 50 and 65 and 66 are extended upwardly through and above the top 31 of the casing to provide apertured cars 99. A U-shaped hanger 100 is secured to each pair of ears 99 by a bolt 101 which extends through aligned openings in the legs 102 of the hanger 100, and apertures in the cars 99. A cotter pin 103 or the like may be inserted in a suitable opening in the end of the bolt 100 opposite to the head 104 of the bolt for retaining the bolt in position.

A hanger bar 105 is secured to the upper face of each of the hangers 100 by rivets or the like 106. The opposite end portions of the hanger bar 105 are adapted to be secured to the horizontal flanges 15 of the side members 12 and 13 of the bed adjacent the foot 11. The conventional transverse brace 107 of the bed may be removed and inserted between the bolts 101 and the under face of the hanger 100. Suitable holes will then be drilled in the opposite end portions of the bar 105 and the brace 107 and in the horizontal flanges 15 of the side members 12 and 13 of the bed. Threaded bolts 108 are inserted through the aligned openings thus formed and nuts 109 secure the parts together.

For the purpose of securing the casing A to the bed the hanger bar 110 may be secured to the upper face of the hangers 100 by welding or the like. It will be noted from Figure 4 of the drawings that the bar 110 has a length substantially equal to the distance between the remote edges of the hangers 100. A substantially U-shaped clip 111 may be secured by welding or the like to the upper face of the bar 110 adjacent the opposite ends thereof. The vertical flange 112 of the conventional transverse braces 113 of the bed which are carried by the side members 12 and 13 adjacent the stationary members 17 are adapted to be received between the legs of the clips 111. The legs of each clip and the vertical flange 112 of each brace 113 are provided with aligned apertures for receiving therethrough a threaded bolt 114 or the like which is secured in place by a nut 115.

Appropriate electrical conductors 116 are secured at one end of the motors 39 and 40 and the opposite ends of the conductors are connected to suitable connectors 117. One end of each of the cables 118 is secured to a suitable connector 119 which are adapted to be removably plugged into the connectors 117. The opposite ends of the cables 118 are connegted to a conventional type of electric motor control means 120 for running the motors selectively in opposite directions. As illustrated in Figure 8 of the drawings, the cover 121 of the control means 120 constitutes a panel through which extend handles 122 and 123 for controlling the reversing of the motors. Push buttons 124 and 125 extend upwardly through the panel 121 for operating the switches for closing the circuits to the motors.

The control means 120 is removably supported upon one of the stationary members 17 by a support generally indicated at C, as can be seen especially from Figure 9 of the drawings. The support comprises two portions 126 and 127. The portion 126 comprises a substantially vertical flange 128 which engages the outer ace of the vertical flange 20 of the member 17, a substantially horizontal plate-like part 129 which rests upon the upper face of the horizontal flange 19 of the member 17 and a free edge part 130 which is bent over in spaced apart relation to the part 129 to provide a socket 131 for receiving the inner free edge portion of the horizontal flange 19 of the member 17.

The flange 128 extends downwardly and is of reduced width at its free end portion as indicated at 132 and carries one leaf of a hinge 133. The part 129 may be provided with a slot 134 which extends through the bent over portion 130. The portion 127 comprises a substantially elongated shank 135, one end portion of which is bent over upon itself, as indicated at 136, and carries the other leaf of the hinge 133. The opposite end portion of the shank 135 is of increased thickness as is indicated at 137 and is bent over at substantially right angles to the shank 135 to provide a supporting platform 138.

The platform 138 is provided with openings 139 for the reception of bolts or the like by which the control means 120 may be detachably secured to the platform 138. The platform 138 may be retained in its raised position as shown in Figure 9 of the drawings by a conventional type door bolt indicated at D.

The keeper 140 which may be secured to the bent over part 136 and the sliding bolt member 141 may be secured to the portion 132 of the portion 126. An electric conductor 142 has one end connected to the control means 120 and its opposite end to a suitable source of electrical energy.

In the use of the device the conventional hand cranks for the head and foot shafts 28 and 30, respectively, are removed and the pulleys 70 and 95 are placed on the shafts 28 and 30 in lieu of the hand cranks. The casing A will then be attached to the bed in the manner described above. The belts 71 and 96 will be trained about the pulleys 69 and 70 and the pulleys 94 and 95.

The control support C will now be positioned upon. the stationary member 17 by engaging the bent over portion 130 over the free edge of the upper horizontal flange 19, as shown in Figures 1 and 9 of the drawings. The shank 135 and the platform 138 will be swung to the raised position shown in these two figures and the bolt 141 will be slid into the keeper 140 to retain the support C in its raised position. The control means 120 will be secured to the platform 138 and the connectors 119 will be plugged into the connectors 117.

It will be noted from Figure 1 of the drawings that the switch handles 122 and 123 and the push buttons 124 and 125 will be at substantially the horizontal level of the mattress 26 so that they will be easily accessible to the patient occupying the bed. If the patient desires to raise the head supporting portion 16 of the bed he will move the switch handle 122 towards the word Up on the panel 121 and press the switch 124 which will cause the motor 39 to rotate the head shaft 28 in the direction to raise the head portion 16. When the desired elevation of the head portion 16 has been obtained the patient will remove his finger from the push button 124 thereby breaking the circuit to the motor 39 and and arresting the head portion 16 at the desired elevation.

If it is desired to lower the head portion 16 the switch handle 122 will be moved to its down position, as indisated on the panel 121, and the push button 124 be pressed. This will cause the motor 39 to turn in the opposite direction to lower the head portion 16. The foot portions 21 and 22 may be raised and lowered in a similar manner by means of the switch handle 123 and the push button 125.

Any conventional type of reversible motor may be used, but for the sake of example, the motors could be of the type having a speed of 1725 R. P. M. The train of pulleys between each motor and its bed operating shaft are so proportioned in diameter that each motor will impart to the bed operating shaft a speed of substantially 48 R. P. M.

With the use of this device the patient does not have to rely upon an attendant to properly adjust the foot and head supporting portions of the bed to suit his individual needs and comfort at any particular time but may operate the device himself and thus obtain a much more comfortable positioning of the bed parts. The use of this improved device upon beds in a hospital or the like will eliminate one attendant for every fifteen installations. The compactness of the structure, particularly the casing A, will permit the storing of a cot beneath the hospital bed to which the device is attached.

When it is desired to remove the patient from the bed or to change the bed clothes the control means 120 may be swung downwardly as indicated by the arrows 143 by retracting the bolt 141 from its keeper 140. If desired, the support C may be entirely removed from the stationary member 17 by disengaging the bent over portion 130 from the flange 19.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An improved attachment for hospital beds for operating the foot and head raising and lowering shafts of the bed comprising a casing, two pairs of apertured ears on said casing, a hanger connected to each pair of cars, a connecting means supported by said hangers for detachably connecting the casing to the bed, a pair of reversible electric motors mounted within said casing, a power shaft mounted within said casing and having a portion extending therefrom, a pulley fixed to the extended portion of said power shaft and adapted to be operatively connected to the head shaft of the bed, a train of pulleys and belts between one of said motors and said power shaft, a second power shaft mounted within said casing and having a portion extending therefrom, a pulley fixed to the extended portion of said second power shaft and adapted to be operatively connected to the head shaft of the bed, a train of pulleys and belts between the other of said motors and said second power shaft, a control means for selectively operating said motors to rotate said pulleys, and automatic belt tighteners associated with the belts between the pulleys on said power shafts and the pulleys.

2. An improved attachment for hospital beds for operating the foot and head raising and lowering shafts of the bed comprising a casing, two pairs of apertured ears on said casing, a hanger connected to each pair of cars, a hanger bar secured to said hangers, a clip adjacent opposite ends of said hanger bar adapted to receive the vertical flange of a cross brace of the bed, means for connecting said clips to the cross braces, a pair of reversible electric motors within said casing, means driven by one of said motors and adapted to be connected to the head shaft of the bed for operating the head shaft, means driven by the other of said motors and adapted to be connected to the foot shaft of the bed for operating the foot shaft, and control means for selectively operating said motors in opposite directions.

3. An improved electric bed raiser for hospital or invalid beds having side members, a shaft for raising or lowering the foot of the bed and a second shaft for rais ing or lowering the head of the bed comprising a casing, a plurality of standards mounted within the casing, two reversible motors supported by said casing and facing in opposite directions, a pulley adapted to be fixed on each of the bed shafts, a reduction driving connection between one of said motors and one of said pulleys comprising a train of pulleys of different diameters and pulley belts entrained over said pulleys, a reduction driving connection between the other of said motors and the other bed shaft pulley comprising a train of pulleys of different diameters and pulley belts entrained over the pulleys, shafts for said pulleys supported by said standards, two pairs of said standards being extended above said casing and having horizontally aligned apertures in their extended portions, a strap secured to each pair of extended portions of said pairs of standards, a hanger bar secured to said straps and adapted to be secured to the side members of the bed, means for supplying electric current to said motors, and control means positioned in said electric supply means for selectively operating said motors in opposite directions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 905,526 Hanson Dec. 1, 1908 1,337,867 Whitaker Apr. 20, 1920 1,514,607 ElllS Nov. 11, 1924 2,349,701 Buttikofer May 23, 1944 2,459,246 Sinclair Jan. 18, 1949 2,500,742 Taylor Mar. 14, 1950 2,520,849 McVicker Aug. 29, 1950 2,630,720 Gambill Mar. 10, 1953 2,631,300 Murray Mar. 17, 1953 

